


Groundhog Day Device

by Lucifer_BringerofLight



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:27:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28008432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifer_BringerofLight/pseuds/Lucifer_BringerofLight
Summary: Trying to get away from Gonzales' S.H.I.E.L.D, Jenna Avery meets Hunter. Together they try to retrieve a 084 and get to live their very own groundhog day and more...
Relationships: lance hunter x oc
Kudos: 1





	1. The Beginning

An hour ago, two men came into my house and took me with them. They called themselves Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They brought me on board of a ship and left me in a conference room. Where I still sat. Opposite to me sat an old man and a woman.

“Miss Coulson, we know who you are, and we know who your family is.”

“I am Jenna Avery, and my mother is Doris Avery, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, my father was one too, but died in action.”

“Your father is Phil Coulson.”

“That I would certainly know!”

“Stop pretending. There is no use in hiding it. Listen, we know that it doesn’t seem like it, but we are S.H.I.E.L.D. The real S.H.I.E.L.D. And we need your help. Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. is making problems. We want to protect the world from threats and since your father died and was resurrected, he is one of those threats.”

“Said Coulson is not my father. My father’s name is Thomas, that’s all I know about him. He died before I was born.”

The man sighed. “You really want to stick with that story?”

“You know, that’s not even the main problem here. You say, you are the real S.H.I.E.L.D., the trustworthy one, but in the same sentence you asked me to betray someone you think is my father. Sorry, but never gonna happen. And if you don’t intend to keep me prisoner here, I will leave know.”

I rose up and left the room. How I wanted to leave the ship was another question. But maybe that was my answer. A man passed by and he seemed to be in a hurry. I followed him. He seemed as if he wanted to leave as well, so maybe we could help each other. The man run out on the open deck towards something plane like. Somehow, he managed to enter one which was the moment I made my appearance, pointing a gun at his head.

“Not to scare you-”

He jumped and looked at me in horror.

“Who do you work for?” 

His eyebrows narrowed, but considering the gun, he answered. Even though his tone was careful, there was stubbornness too.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. The real one.”

How helpful. I rolled my eyes. “That’s what they all say. Let me rephrase that, who are you loyal to?”

Now the stubbornness became obvious in his facial expression, together with pride.

“Director Coulson.”

I sighed, he was so proud of that, I didn’t even have to doubt him. 

“What a relief.”

I put my gun away and sat at the pilot’s chair.

“Buckle up, that’s gonna be a rough flight.”

He hesitated for a second then set down. “Who are you working for?”

“NASA, and sometimes Homeland or CIA, once or twice I worked for NSA as well.”

“Wow. I can see why they brought you in.”

I nodded in agreement, he didn’t had to know why I was here.

“And you? What are you here for?”

“My ex-wife and my best friend kidnaped me, after he choked me, and held me prisoner.”

“Sounds like you need a new best friend.”

“I think I found one. One that is flying me off that damn ship.”

I laughed, “Well than, new best friend, I’m Jenna.”

“I’m Hunter.”

Sometime later we landed at a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.

“Coulson will give me hell for bringing you in. But welcome to the playground.”

“Thanks, and I doubt that Coulson will be mad at you. But we’ll see.”

Hunter escorted me to the office of Coulson and knocked, “Hi boss, I’m back and I have bad news.”

“There’s another S.H.I.E.L.D., and hi by the way, long time no seen.”

Coulson looked a bit shocked by my sudden appearance.

“Nicky? Are you okay? What are you doing here?”

“The other S.H.I.E.L.D. kidnaped me, but I’m fine, just need to get out of my pjs.”

“And I was wondering if you walk around like this all the time.”

Coulson as well as I casted an angry look at him and Hunter fell silent while I told Coulson how I escaped with Hunter, who added his part of the story.

“Okay, I’ll talk about that with May. You’ll stay here.”

He turned to Hunter. “Have you seen a box around here? Labelled as classified and not to be touched if avoidable?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s in the storage, why?”

“Take her there and then give her the closed quarter. And Nick, we’ll talk later.”

“Make sure May is there.”

I followed Hunter, who appeared to be more than confused.

“So, what’s your name now? Jenna or Nick?”

“Jenna Nicole.”

“And you know Coulson so well that he calls you Nicky?”

“He knew my mother before she got pregnant with me and left the job. But they stayed in contact.”

He nodded, not sure whether to belief me.

“Here we are, there is the box.”

I thanked him and picked it up, it wasn’t a large box.

“Can you show me the quarters?”

“Okay. What’s your plan with that?”

“You’ll see. So, lead the way.”

He blinked at me for some seconds, then showed me the way to my new room.

“Would you please explain me what’s going on?”

The room had been locked with an Iris lock, which I could open without problems.

“Whose cloth are this?”

The wardrobe was opened and there were plenty of cloth inside.

“This room was reserved for me and this box is for emergencies, there is a similar one on the bus. Just in case Coulson had to pick me up.”

“What’s inside?”

“Money, weapons, cloth, passport. I’ve got some of them shattered all over America.”

“Just in case?”

“Just in case.”

“Okay… I need a drink, so I’ll leave.”

He did. I changed and then went back to Coulson.

“Nick, Coulson told me you came.”

May hugged me. “How have you been?”

“Fine, never missed training. Is he inside?”

She nodded. “He is really happy you’re here. He always preferred to keep you close.”

“I know. I’ll go, talk to him.”

She nodded again. I walked in and caught him starring at a picture.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come to the funeral.”

“Never mind. You had other things in mind.”

“Will you stay?”

I sighed. “I would love to, you know that don’t you?”

“Of course, my darling.”

“Good. But I can’t. I’ve worked on something. An 084.”

I’d been trained by May to be an agent and had worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. for a long time, in secrecy.

“I’ll finish that and returned as fast as I can.”

He nodded. “How about you take an agent with you? Someone good, maybe even May?”

“May is more valuable here. But I’d like to take Hunter with me.”

Surprised he looked at me, he did not expect that. “Hunter?!”

“Yeah, he seems nice. I think, he’ll be useful.”

“If you want to. You better leave right away.”

“I will. Thanks Dad.” “Of course. Take care of yourself.”

“You too.”

I wanted to leave, but returned once more, because I figured he should know.

“Those other people, they know, or they think they know. I told them they’re wrong, but … they know.” My father nodded slowly.

“Go now and be safe.”

Even though I had tried to convince the other S.H.I.E.L.D. from the opposite, Phil Coulson was my father. We had covered that up for all my life now in order to protect me. If Hydra would know that I am his daughter and Nick Fury’s Goddaughter, I’d be in mortal danger.


	2. The Middle

“Hey Hunter, how many drinks did you had, yet?”

“First one.” He held up his full glass.

“The better. We’re leaving again.”

“Where, why, who and when?”

“Cardiff, to collect an 084, you and me. Now.”

He put his glass down and looked at me in disbelieve.

“Coulson wants me to have company, I chose you, since you decided to be my new best friend. You won’t even be gone long. We’ll be back for dinner tomorrow. In and out, that’s all.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll come. But you owe me a drink.”

“I’ll tell you something, if we manage that one without complications, I’ll buy you a whole bottle of whatever you want.”

“I think I love you, new best friend.”

We took one of the planes to fly to Cardiff and went in easily. The 084 was located inside an Inn. We got a room, waited till it was night and then broke into the room with the 084. It wasn’t used for the 084 was in there and couldn’t be removed. Which we discovered as we tried and accidently turned it on.

“Are we gonna die now?”

Several lights had started blinking and an electromagnetic pulse tuned of the lights.

“I don’t think so. Besides the EMP, there is nothing dangerous. Let’s just pack it in. We’ve got the right equipment.”

“So, we might even be back for lunch?”

“If you hurry, even for breakfast.”

Well, we were back for lunch. I reported to my dad and then got the chance to look around a bit. It was about 10 pm when I got ready for bed. I had just put my gun down as a shockwave hit me and knocked me down. I got up again only to find myself back in the hotel room, next to Hunter, who was still lying on the ground.

“Hunter, get up. We’re in trouble.”

Right in front of us stood the 084.

“What happened?”

“No idea, but apparently we’re back to where we began, yesterday night.”

“How is this even possible?”

“I don’t know. Give me some time and I’ll tell you. But you should call Fitzsimmons. I’ll probably need their help.”

I was really looking forward to working with them as soon as I was back at playground. Looked like I got to work with them even sooner. Hunter dialled and handed me the phone. While I waited for someone to pick up, I noticed noises outside in the corridor.

“Would you be so kind and take a look? See if they had the same experience as we had?”

Hunter agreed.

'Simmons'

“Ah, Dr Simmons. I’m sorry to wake you. But I would need your help.”

‘Who are you?’

“Sorry, this is Jenna Avery, we talked yesterday?”

‘I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name.’

“Huh, maybe… What day is it?”

‘Thursday, I think, well, soon its Friday. Why do you ask?’

“Avery!”

“Excuse me for a moment, I need to check on Hunter. But you know what, you should go and wake Coulson, and Fitz might be helpful as well.”

“Avery, you should come out here now!”

I put down the phone without ending the call and followed Hunters voice down to the living room. Together with him there sat a woman and three men.

“They’d experiences similar to what happened to us.”

“I was in the shower, just five minutes ago, then something knocked me out and I wake up in the kitchen.”

“I was at home and woke up here.”

Two of the men agreed.

“So, you own this place?”

The man nodded, “And he is my cook.”

“Okay, and the two of you are guest here like us?”

The woman and the third man nodded as well.

“What’s going on here?”

“I’m not quite sure yet, but I’m working on it. You’ve been in the kitchen last night?”

“Yeah. I clean everything once a week, and it took longer yesterday. Why?”

“Because yesterday seems to be today.”

I turned to Hunter. “Simmons said its still Thursday and she never met me.”

Hunters eyes widened in shock. “But that means…”

“I’m not sure. I asked Simmons to get Fitz and Coulson.”

He nodded silently.

“You can go to bed. I won’t find anything before morning.”

I returned to the room, followed by Hunter.

“Simmons, are you there?”

‘Yeah, together with Coulson and Fitz.’

‘Nick, what’s going on? Simmons woke me and told me you needed help.’

“Tell me, what was the last conversation we had?”

‘It was the one before you left to collect the 084. We talked about if you’d stay.’

“Just one problem, Hunter and I already retuned with the 084. But now we’re back at the Inn. And the other guests are here as well. On the exact same place where they had been yesterday when the device was activated.”

‘Sounds like it created a time loop?’

“Something like this, yes. I’ll send you the data I’ve got. Call me as soon as you know something. And hurry, I’ve got the feeling we haven’t got so much time.”

‘Nicky, will you be okay?’

“Yeah sure, we’re fine. In the morning we’ll find out if others are affected.”

‘Be careful.’

“I will. But I can’t promise anything for Hunter.”

Hunter laughed. “I can only say that I won’t do anything to endanger Jenna.”

He grinned at me and winked.

‘I will hope so. Fitzsimmons, you start working on the data. Nick, you work on the device itself, and you, Hunter, don’t do anything stupid.’

“Ay Sir.”

I ended the call and looked at Hunter.

“You look troubled.”

“I am. I don’t know what to do with this technology.”

“You’ll find something.”

I nodded and started working. Hunter laid down on the bed and fell asleep soon, but didn’t left my side till midday. When I looked up the next time he was gone. Probably got bored and went to find some alcohol.

“You need to eat!”

Hunter appeared in the doorway and held a plate under my nose.

“I hope you like Lasagne.”

“I do. Did you talk to the others?”

“they’re not happy, but know that we can do only so much about it.”

“Good, because I’m exactly where I started. I just hope that Fitzsimmons have an idea.”

“They will. And if not, looks like you’ve got eternity to work it out.”

“You know the movie ‘Groundhog Day?’”

“With this cynic reporter who’s stuck in a time loop to relive one day over and over again and spends half his time killing himself and the groundhog?”

“Yeah, that one. Looks like we’re the cynic reporter.”

“But with the difference, he got the girl.”

I laughed, “Well, if you think about it, you can spent the day out there and sleep with whoever you find and end up here without her being clingy.”

“You’re right. I gotta go.” He rose and grinned at me. “You, best friend, are a true genius and the best friend I ever had.”

“Have fun.”

I shook my head as I watched him leave. After I finished my meal, I called Fitz.

“You found anything?”

‘Not much.’

“Better tell me so that at least one of us remembers it tomorrow, or yesterday. Whatever, at reset.”

They told me everything they found and which part of data they worked on.

‘I have a medical question, at reset, does your physical state changes back to what it was, or does it stay the same?’

“I’ll tell you as soon as I find out, means, when I tell you, you won’t have asked. Weird.”

‘I agree. But you could break Hunters nose or something.’ She waited a few seconds, ‘No protest? Where is Hunter?’

“Getting laid. He’s not of much help here, anyways.”

‘Really, he just left you?’ Simmons sounded angry, which was funny since I wasn’t.

“I told him to, there is no reason why two of us should sit here and stare at my laptop, when neither of us knows what those data means.” I sighed, “I’ll say, I call tomorrow, but by the time I call you won’t remember.”

‘That sounds horrible.’

“Never mind. I’ll go back to work. And I will tell Hunter that you disapprove.”

‘Do that.’

I worked for the rest of the night till the shock wave came and knocked me over. Hunter appeared next to me.

“Hey there.” I rolled over so I could look at him. “You had fun?”

“Yeah, she was really cute.”

“Good for you. I am supposed to tell you that Simmons disapproves.”

“Noted.”

I took a deep breath, then let it go. Tiered as I was, I closed my eyes, not with the intention to sleep, just to rest my eyes for a moment. I hadn’t slept for two days, not counting the time loop. But before I could bring myself to continue working, I felt how my mind slipped into drowsiness. I wasn’t asleep yet, I could hear Hunter chuckling, he got up, moments later I felt a blanket over my body.

“Sweet dreams, Jenna.”

He then walked over to the bed and laid down. It didn’t took much longer for me to full fall asleep.

When I woke up, I discovered Hunter siting on the table. In front of him was some breakfast he hadn’t touched yet. He just silently sat there and waited for me to wake up.

“What are your plans for today?”

“First, making sure you eat. Then I’ll leave you alone so you can work. Don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll go outside, enjoy being in Great Brittan again. Maybe visiting the Torchwood studio. I mean, it’s not Doctor Who but still great.”

“You are so British.”

“Why, thank you.”

We ate together and I went back to work, after informing Fitzsimmons about the situation. Without any success, of course. And the days reset again and again and again.

I soon lost track of how many of those resets we already had been through. Each on lasted exactly 24 hours. I wasn’t really affected by them and the other got used to it, as far as Hunter told me. Since I never left the room I couldn’t tell. I spent the time either sleeping or working. Hunter made sure I ate at least twice a day. But all the time spent with work had no use. I didn’t know anything more than that we were trapped in a temporal [amplification](https://dict.leo.org/englisch-deutsch/amplification) field. Some resets ago I stopped sending data to Fitzsimmons, they couldn’t telling me anything I didn’t already knew. It just drove me crazy. Hunter didn’t ask, most of the time he was out anyways.

“Okay, that’s enough!” I hadn’t heard Hunter coming in. “Get up!”

As I just looked at him, he grabbed my hands and pulled me up. “

What are you doing, I have to work!”

“No, you have to take a break. C’mon Jen, you’ve been working on this thing for over thirty days! Without any result.”

“But we can’t let the others down! We promised them to get out of here!”

“And you will find a way. But not today.”

I exhaled resigning, “Okay. Today.”

Hunter didn’t looked as if he had gotten what he wanted, but decided to leave it alone for now. We joined the rest in the dining room.

“Oh ho! She left her room!”

“Did you find anything?”

“No questions about that stupid loop, you got me?! Today is her free day, leave her alone!”

The owner, his name was Marc, smiled at me.

“Sit down dear, have some tea.”

Then he looked at the others. “Yes, it has been a month now. And all of you want to leave, I know. But she does her best, other than the rest of us, she has been working all this time. She deserves some days off, don’t you think?”

Christian, the cook, agreed immediately, he and Marc were a couple if Hunter was right.

The third man nodded slowly, “I’m don’t want to go home anyways, my wife drives me crazy.”

“But I have a job to do!”

The woman was junior partner in some law office.

“And you will return to this job as if nothing had happened.” Hunter shrugged his shoulder, “It doesn’t matter if you agree, I won’t let Jenna work for at least two day.”

“You won’t let me?” surprisingly I wasn’t even mad at him.

At anyone else I would have been mad for telling me what to do. But with Hunter I knew he didn’t wanted to control me, but protect me. After I’d finished breakfast, we left the Inn.

“Where are we going?”

“Cardiff Castle. It’s beautiful there. And later well go to the beach. It’s not a warm day, but still, it’s worth it.”

“I see, you have it all planed.”

He smiled but didn’t say anything.

Though, he was right, the castle was beautiful and after he showed it to me, we sat in front of it on a bench.

“You know that after a month with you, I still don’t know anything about you?”

“Neither do I”

“Well, I am from round here, well no, from England. My first name is Lancelot, even though I’ll kill everyone who calls me that. Not many know. I prefer Hunter or if necessary, Lance. You already know about Bobbi, my ex, even got an ex-girlfriend, who died working for S.H.I.E.L.D., but I got over it. The thing with me and women is complicated. Even if I like one, I don’t get attached, usually. Thanks to Bobbi I’ve got some trust issues.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“Wow. Well, you already know my name. And born I was in Seattle, where I grew up. In order to protect me Melinda May trained me. Which was necessary because my parents both work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I, myself, work for them from time to time. I work for everyone who pays good money. Mostly NASA, because I’ve got a degree in astrophysics and astrodynamics. But I’m good with technology, hacking and stuff… which is why Homeland, CIA and NSA consult me. But to be honest, I don’t care for them, I care about the money. Well, and I’m loyal to Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D, his and Fury’s.”

“You’re a merc?!”

“Looks like.”

“You know what, Jenna, I was made for you and you only!”

I laughed at him, but somehow, I liked the sound of it.

“If at all, we were made for each other. But will you please explain me, why you think so?”

“You’re a merc, I’m a merc, but we both settled for S.H.I.E.L.D. We were both at this damned ship at the same time and decided to leave at the same moment. Chance? I don’t think so. And you know Doctor Who and you like it.”

“You’re right, I like you Brits really much, you have a nicer accent.”

“You see.”

I shook my head, smiling about it. “You’re a weirdo, Lancelot.”

He muttered a bit about my use of Lancelot, but at least he didn’t kill me. Then again, it would have been rather useless to kill me. At midnight I would be fine again.

“I actually like your name.”

“Then you’re the first one.”

“It means warrior and it means home. I think it’s beautiful.”

“How did you get your name? I mean, mine is obvious, one of Arthurs knights.”

“Yeah, pretty obvious for an Englishman. My father wanted to call me Ginevra, my mom didn’t like it, so they called me Jenna instead since it is derived from Jenifer which is a form of Ginevra.”

“Any you say we aren’t meant for each other? You know who Ginevra was, right?”

“Of course. She was the wife of Arthur and the fiancé of Lancelot.”

“You see! She loved Lancelot more than anything in the world. And he loved her even more.”

“Do you wonna tell me anything?”

Hunter looked at me in astonishment. Then he frowned at himself and shrugged his shoulders, as if he wondered, why he tried so desperately to convince me that we were made for each other.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Hunter looked kind of insecure, just for a split second, but I saw it. So, I decided to change the subject till he was sure about his feelings.

“How about some food and then I want to see the beach.”

The rest of the day and the following two I spent with Hunter walking around Cardiff.

Then I returned to my analysis of the device. But not the entire day. I now ate with the rest and the evenings we spent together as well, at least most of them. Sometimes Hunter surprised me with a trip, which I would call date I wouldn’t know better. And every day we ended up on the floor of my hotel room. We had spent the night at the beach and were still laughing when the day reset. I rolled over to him and leaned on his chest.

“I think you might have been right.”

“About what?”

“Us.”

Hunter closed his eyes and exhaled as good as he could. When he opened his eyes again, he was smiling brightly,

“Finally.”

Then without any further word he pulled me closer and kissed me. He let go of me only because we ran out of breath.

“Waiting three months was worth it!”

“Three months already?”

I hadn’t noticed how the time had passed. Then again, I never had any sense of time and reliving the same day over and over again wasn’t helpful.

“I’m glad I’m stuck here with you.”

“Believe me, me too. But we should go to bed if you want to work tomorrow.”

“How about I take a day off and we skip sleeping?”

Lance started laughing and kissed me again, “Brilliant idea.”

The next morning, I woke up tangled in his arms. He was still sleeping, which was rare, so I decided not to stand up and therefore not to wake him. Instead, I enjoyed the moment. Sometime later Hunter woke up.

“Morning”

“Morning is good, it nearly twelve o’clock.”

“Well, then it’s almost time for lunch.”

“Are you ever thinking about something else then food?”

“Yes, now for example, I think about kissing you.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

When we went down into the dining room for lunch the others were smiling.

“That was about time!”

Marc laughed and Christian joined in, “But hey, that means, you owe me a dinner.”

“Excuse you? Did you bet on us?”

“Yeah, we bet about two months ago when the two of you will get together.”

“Looks like you won, Christian.”

“Looks like”

“Nice for you.”

“Does this mean, Marc cooks dinner today, because in that case I’ll eat out.”

I agreed with Hunter, and Hilary and Andree decided that they would order pizza.

“Really, don’t you like my cooking?”

“I prefer Hills cooking and she burned it.”

Over the last months everyone cooked once in a while. And while Hilary burned hers, Marc’s tasted even worse. Hunters, on the other hand, tasted really good. Mushroom soup with whiskey.

“How about I’ll take you out tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

Andree’s phone started to ring. His wife, like every day. He looked at it with the usual annoyance.

“Why don’t you talk to her?”

“Because it’ll end in an argument.”

“So what? Tell her whatever you want, yell at her. Try to sort things out. If it doesn’t work, never mind, it won’t have happened for her tomorrow.”

He sat there in silence for some time, thinking about what I had just said. After a while he began to nod.

“Jenna, you are absolutely genius. I can figure out her problem without her being offended.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I try my best.”

But obviously I was not genius enough to solve the problem with the loop.

“Don’t try too hard. I think all of us are fine here. Even Hill started to enjoy it. Took only about sixty resets and she began to relax.”

Marc was right, Hill was way more of a pleasant company now.

Later that day we sat at the beach and talked about everything that came to our mind. But somewhere mid-conversation I remembered something Lance had told me a few months ago.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Oh, that sounds serious.”

I nodded slowly. I’d never told anyone before.

“It is. Usually, I don’t tell anyone. Only few people know at all. We had decided that it was too dangerous, that if the wrong people find out about it, I won’t be safe anywhere. They’d probably try to kidnap me or kill me, or whatever they’ll think of. Bet they’ll be creative.”

I sighed, Hunter was looking on me, he couldn’t figure out what I was trying to say.

“If it puts you in danger, I don’t want to know.” He squeezed my hand, “I trust you. With all my heart, I trust you.”

“And I trust you. Which is why I want to tell you.” I took a deep breath. “Coulson is my father. That’s why May trained me. That and that Fury is my godfather.”

“Wow.”

These news shocked Hunter for obvious reasons.

“So, Nicole, because of Nicholas.”

I nodded slowly. “When my mom learned that she was pregnant form Coulson, she left S.H.I.E.L.D. and they made up a cover story, that she had an affair with her colleague, who had recently died. Till I was old enough to understand Phil and Nick were my uncles who visited once in a while. My mom made sure I did at least one material art at any given time. When I turned six, they told me the truth and introduced May who trained me form that day on. My dad could never decide if he wanted to keep me close or have me as far away as possible.”

“That why there are emergency boxes on the base and on the bus. And why he had a room ready for you.”

“Yeah.”

“He’ll kill me if he learns about us, won’t he?”

“Don’t worry. He’ll start to hate you and make sure you regret it, but he loves me enough not to sabotage my relationships. Especially after he couldn’t tell Audrey that he was alive.”

We changed the subject for some time, but Hunter returned to that one.

“Why did you tell me?”

“You said that your ex-wife lied to you and that you couldn’t trust her. I didn’t want to start with a lie.”

“It’s…”

He smiled and looked touched. Since he couldn’t find words to express what he thought he kissed me instead.

“I can’t tell you, how much it means to me. Thank you.”

For the rest of the day, we sat on the beach, enjoying each other’s presence. Then I returned to work, then next day.

Even though I tried nearly every day, it took me another ninety resets to finally find a solution. I turned the devise off after a reset, so we could start the day anew for one last time. I had told the others what I wanted to try, and they gathered around me. I did what I needed to do and the light, that had been burning for six months now, went out. We starred at it, but it didn’t go back on.

“I think that’s it. I think it’s over.”

Lance hugged me and kissed me on the forehead. “You are bloody brilliant.”

“You definitely are.”

“Thanks.”

I grabbed the device and placed it in the box we brought for it.

“Let’s bring this thing to S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“It was nice to meet you, all of you. Any you are welcome to come and visit us whenever you want.”

“Thank you, Marc, you have a beautiful Inn.”

Hunter grabbed our bags, I carried the box. Our Quinjet was parked at a near rooftop which we could reach at any given time, even after midnight. 


	3. The End

The flight back went by quickly and we arrived at the Playground before breakfast time. 

“Nick, back already?”

“You have no idea.”

“You look exhausted, both of you.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I’ll tell you later. Let me bring this to Fitzsimmons and make sure they lock it away with an exact description of how to turn it off again!”

“Mind if I’ll accompany you?”

“Not at all.”

My father decided that he would want to come along as well. As I had expected, Fitzsimmons were in their lab already.

“Morning, my name is Jenna, I kind of work for S.H.I.E.L.D. and I’ve got some piece of technology that plays with time.” I placed the box on a table. “Lance, have you seen my-”

“Here.”

Lance handed me my laptop and the papers I had printed out on the way here.

“Thank you. Here is a description, what it is, how it works and, most importantly, how to turn it off.”

I gave it to Fitz, “Before you ask, Dr Simmons, since I know that you’ll ask, yes, the physical state returns to the one the affected had before. And now, if nobody minds, he owes me a drink.”

“I don’t!”

“You do. I promised you, if nothing goes wrong, I’ll buy you one. So, it’s on you.”

“Okay, but only because I really like.”

We settled for coffee instead of alcohol considering the fact that it was morning. After we had breakfast I went to talk to my dad. He already awaited me in his office.

“Ah, good of you to come.”

“Sure. We have a lot to discuss.”

“Oh yes. What is it with you and Hunter? You two act like a couple but you know this man since yesterday!”

“Yesterday was a long time ago. For me it has been over six months since I last sat in this office. The device creates a time loop in which we were stuck for quite a while. Fitzsimmons will tell you the details as soon as they finished my report.”

“So, six months?”

I nodded.

“And you decided to like him?”

“I liked him from the first day. But yes Dad, I decided that he is a good guy and I do like him a lot. Please just be nice about it.”

He looked at me for a long while. Then he sighed, “Okay if you really like him, I won’t try anything. But if he hurts you, he'll never be found again.”

“If he hurts me, I’ll help you getting rid of the body.”

“Good to know. Now tell me about the device.”

“Well, as far as I could figure out, it works with subspace connection and creates a time amplification field. But I think it might be able to do even more, which is, why I want to lock it away. At least until this S.H.I.E.L.D/S.H.I.E.L.D thing is sorted. Anything new on it?”

“We could arrest Bobbi and Mack, but they won’t talk to anyone. Maybe they will talk to Hunter.”

“I’ll tell him, and we will see what happens. But first I will place the 084 in vault E and lock it with an iris scanner.”

“Who will have access besides the two of us?”

“No one for now.”

Coulson nodded, “that’s probably for the best.”

Hunter decided that we both would go talk to them, first to Bobbi. She was locked in vault A. And she seemed surprised as we walked in.

“Hunter. Coulson said you were on a mission and wouldn’t be back till tomorrow.”

“Looks like he was wrong.”

“I know you’re mad at me. But it was necessary that you don’t know about it. What Coulson does is wrong. I know I said you could trust me, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I don’t care that you lied to me. I shouldn’t have trusted you at all. My mistake. But that’s not why we’re here.”

“Oh you, you joined Coulson as well?”

“I am a merc, I work for everyone who pays, S.H.I.E.L.D does.”

“Want to know who here father is?” “

She already told me. What did you say his name was? Thomas or Theodore?”

“Thomas James.”

“Yes, I remember. We had a nice conversation about why we had to flee together.”

He casted an angry look at Bobbi, that he was still mad about being kidnapped. No wonder.

“She lied to you. Her father is Phil Coulson.”

Hunter turned around to me and smiled at me, “Oh, is he?” Then turned back, “Sorry Bobbi, but I don’t think you’re reliable.”

Bobbi looked surprisingly hurt. “I swear to you, beside S.H.I.E.L.D I haven’t been lying”

“Whatever. I’m not here to discuss our failed relationship. We’re here for information about what you call S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Bobbi looked at him as if she wouldn’t recognise him. “Why aren’t you mad at me? You don’t scream at me, you don’t tell me that I’m a liar and that you take back everything nice you ever said.”

I nearly started laughing. She was hurt, she had wanted him to throw a tantrum, so she would know that he cares for her. I shook my head and quietly explained to Lance what I had discovered. His eyebrows rose, and he turned around.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Barbara, I don’t care for you, not anymore. I did, for a long time. For a far too long time.” He shook his head, then shrugged his shoulders. “Have you got anything important to say to us?”

“No.”

Without any further acknowledgment of her existence, he left.

“Wait, Avery!”

“Why should I?”

“I need to know. How did he change so much in just one day?”

“If you don’t tell me anything, I don’t tell anything.”

She thought about it for few minutes, “I can’t. I can’t tell you anything. Surely, you must understand.”

“If I were worried about someone I love, I would do a lot to make sure he is okay. But then again, you don’t really love him, do you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have lied to him.”

“I love him!”

I should be glad that there was a barrier between us, because right now, Bobbi wanted to kill me.

“I love him, and I need to know if he is fine!”

“Chance is that I repeat myself, if you don’t give me anything, I can’t give you anything.”

“Okay, fine! Our director is Robert Gonzales, the man you already met. And he is on his way here with a team. But they won’t do anything until be give the Ok. And now tell me, what happened to Hunter!?”

“Wouldn’t have guessed you’re so emotional. Hunter is doing perfectly fine, he’s over you. But your betrayal might have changed him, I wouldn’t know.”

I left her cursing. Lance waited outside.

“How did you get those information?”

“She cares for you more than you know.”

He shrugged his shoulders, “What do I care? I’m better off with you. At least, you don’t lie to me.”

I felt deeply sorry for Lance in this moment. He looked so pathetic and desperate. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it for a second.

“Ready for Nr. 2?”

“Not at all.”

“I can do it, if you want.”

“No. I have to.”

So, we went down in Vault D and talked to Mack, I didn’t knew him, and Hunter screamed at him most of the time, because Mack used to be his best friend and then chocked and kidnaped him, so Lances anger was understandable. But not helpful. Mack didn’t say a word.

Sometime later we laid on my bed. We hadn’t slept last night and were tiered. Lances head rested on my shoulder. I had nearly been asleep when my phone rang. It was Fitz, telling me that the sensors I had place in Vault E showed rising levels of an electromagnetic field. Lance had just ignored the ringing and was still sleeping, even when I stood up, he didn’t woke up properly.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just need to check on something. I’m back in a few minutes.”

I had placed the device in Vault E because it had been equipped with an impervious metal that kept everything inside, so we wouldn’t have to worry about any kind of consequences in case of a restart. Still, I didn’t want to risk anything and checked on it. To my surprise, the device had reactivated, but another lamp was lighted. At first it seemed as if it was flickering, but it was blinking really fast and it still grew faster. Not sure whether I should run and hide or go and check it out, I chose the second option and went closer. When the light stopped flickering and an emp hit me, I realised that I had chosen wrong.

The emp had thrown me back against the wall, and I felt terrible. Not because of the wall, didn’t even felt the impact, but my body felt as if I had been microwaved. It took me some minutes to get up and stumble out of the room. Only to be pointed at with guns.

“How did you get in there?”

The man talking to me wore a uniform similar to the one that had been worn around the days of the second world war. Which would mean…

“Considering those rifles, I assume this is no joke?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Ahh, no, not really. Is this S.H.I.E.L.D already?”

“What is S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“Okay. So, SSR it is.”

“How do you know and how did you get in here?”

“I think I should talk to your boss. Which would be Agent Carter, wouldn’t it?”

“Agent Cater isn’t here right now.”

“I can wait.”

“We have to arrest you. Will you resist?”

“Not for now. For now, I’ll be nice.”

Even if I would have wanted to, I couldn’t. I was barely able to stand. So, when he told me to move, my legs gave in and I collapsed. The men carried me into another Vault, not a very comfortable one. I was laid down on the bed, happy to finally get some sleep. The emp had drained every last bit of energy left inside me. The commander stood in front of the cell, he couldn’t find any sense in me.

“Don’t try to explain my presence here. You will fail.”

“I just wonder why you would break in here to sneak into an empty fault undetected and then cause some impulse so that we notice you.”

“Well, I wish I could explain, but I can’t.”

“Who do you work for?”

“Not Hydra. You don’t now the organisation I work for, but we fight Hydra too.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“You shouldn’t. But you don’t have to. You can leave me here, rotting for the rest of my life.”

He looked at me for some time and when he could find any sign of a threat in me, he sighed. 

“Someone will bring you food and water later. You seem like you need it.”

“I would be very grateful.”

Later someone else walked in but I didn’t look up. I was tired, even though I had slept for a while I felt worse than before. I couldn’t even lift my head, when the woman told me that she had food for me.

“I am surprised you don’t care. Wallace told me, you would be happy about food.”

I groaned as an answer.

“I might regret this question, but are you, all right?”

“Not really.”

She came over and helped me sit up. The woman was Peggy Cater, founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. She handed me a plate of soup and some bread. Which I gratefully ate, after I had finished, I felt a bit better.

“Why don’t you tell me, what you are doing here and how you came in here.”

“Long and complicated story. And I don’t fully understand it yet. But there are few things I need to get straight. So, I’m still inside a secret base, somewhere in Virginia?”

“How can you know? We finished it and moved in a few weeks ago.”

“But that means, it’s 1949.”

“Why don’t you know the year?”

“Okay. We found an 084.”

“084?”

“Ah, yes. Object of unknown origin. They called it after the first on. The obelisk you got in Austria in the year 1945. Anyways, we went to collect this object. Didn’t went as planned. The device created a time loop in which my colleague, four civilians and I got stuck. I managed to end the loop. We returned to this base and I stored the 084 inside Vault E. But I got a warning about unusual activities and went in to check. Next thing I know, I am banged against a wall, feel terrible and walk into your men. That’s the facts. Here’s my theory. This device works on subspace level. You have surely heard about Einstein’s relativity theory?”

Cater nodded astonished.

“Then you know that there is something called space-time-continuum. And I suspect the device to tap into it and mess with time.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I know about this base, got in without anyone noticing and that in an obviously bad shape. Ask your friend Howard, he might understand what I explained. And if not, Einstein should still be alive. God, I would love to meet him. But that would mean, Nathan Rosen is alive too. I need to meet those men!”

I took a deep breath.

“Sorry, got distracted. Ask Stark, he might have an answer, if not, please, I beg you, don’t let him play with the 084.”

“The weird thing is, I do believe you.”

“Thanks, I guess. Anyways, go, discuss it with as many people as you want. When you came to a decision, come, and wake me. I need a nap. And if you could spare some more food, that would be great.”

“I’ll send someone in.”

She rose up and turned to leave.

“Oh, and Agent Cater. You will see him again.”

“Who?”

“Steve, but you knew who I’ve been talking about. You think about him all the time, don’t you?”

She returned to sit next to me. “You don’t know how it feels, to think that you might never see the person you love again.”

I first wanted to agree with her but then realised, I did. My heart grew heavy and couldn’t answer her directly. I hadn’t noticed how attached I got to Lance, but I did.

“You do.” Cater looked at me and understood. “You have someone waiting for you, back in your time?”

“I told him, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“How is his name?”

“Lancelot. He hates the name of course. Prefers being called Hunter or, if necessary, Lance. He is from London and… I need to find a way back.”

Cater nodded, “You will. And if we need to fly Einstein here, then we will. But tell me, when will I see Steve again?”

“Around the year 2016. But you’ll have a family till then.”

She nodded slowly. “Of course, I will move on. I can’t wait for another sixty years, can I?”

“No.”

Cater sighed, “But we will bring you home, somehow.”

“Thank you.”

Some hours later the Comander form earlier, who Cater had called Wallace brought me to a conference room. Cater sat inside, together with a man I recognised as young Howard Stark, and some other people.

“We decided that you are no threat to us, but that you have to leave as soon as possible. Which is a shame. You’re such a beautiful thing. But we can’t risk you to change anything which would result in the collapse of everything.”

“You sound exactly as I had always imagined Howard Stark to sound.”

“That does not sound like compliment.”

“Never mind, which you won’t do anyway, will you?”

“Back to topic. The two of you will work on getting her back in time, you can get as much help as need. And we will see if we can arrange a meeting between you and one of earlier named physicists. Until you find a saltation you are our guest. But it would be nice if we would know your name.”

“Jenna Avery.”

Cater nodded. “You should start as soon as you feel better.”

“I think the jump drained me empty, all my energy. It hit even harder since I hadn’t slept the night and hadn’t eaten properly. So, I might be fine now.”

Who was I trying to convince, them or myself? I felt terrible and a good night’s sleep was not going to solve it. But I wanted to go home as soon as possible. And judging by Caters look she knew.

“Tomorrow morning. For the rest of the day, you rest. In this time, Howard will prepare your laboratory.”

It was an order and I obeyed, more or less happily. This time I got a room, small, but with a bed and a table inside, and another bowl of soup with bread.

My conclusion after ten minutes with him was, that Howard Stark was an even bigger asshole then his son. And Tony was a huge asshole. I met him only once while working with S.H.I.E.L.D and never wanted to work with him after that. Now I was forced to work with another philanthropic playboy. But, if I wanted back, I would need his help.

About two weeks after my arrival Peggy came into my room.

“How are you?”

It was late evening and I had just ended another exhausting day with Stark.

“Tired and frustrated, as usually after discussing with Tony.”

“Who’s Tony?”

“Huh? Oh, ahm, Howards son, well, Howards not yet existing son.”

“You know Howards future child?” “Worked with him, once or twice. He’s brilliant as his father, and as arrogant. They even look rather similar.”

Peggy nodded, “Good to know. I’ll keep away from that boy.”

“Nah, Tony’s actually a really good guy.”

She laughed, then changed the subject.

“I guess, you didn’t find anything?”

“No, sadly not.”

“I wish I could help.”

“You do more than enough in your own job. Sooner or later Stark and I will find a solution, till then I have to stay here and try to not tell too much about the future.”

“Probably the best.” She smiled. “And, I called Einstein, he will come in a few days’ time and help you. He said, he’s very excited.”

So were I when he arrived three days later.

“Good morning, Mr. Einstein. Did you have a pleasant journey?”

“Indeed, I had. I am excited to make your acquaintance, Miss Avery.”

“Believe me, not nearly as excited as I am.”

Peggy laughed, “I’ll take it, that I can leave you two alone?”

“Thank you, Peggy.”

“I hope it helps.”

She left us alone, and after I asked him a few questions about some of his theories, I debriefed him about my current situation.

It still took more than a month to come close to the solution. Somewhere in between Peggy married a colleague of hers from SSR time, Daniel Sousa. And another month to actually prepared the device to send me back. But then we were ready. More than tree month I had been here. Three month without Lance. God, I missed him so much, it was hard finding words for it. We made some last preparations as Peggy walked in.

“It was so nice meeting you, Jenna.”

“And an honour meeting the great Peggy Carter.”

She laughed and hugged me.

“Howard, don’t you dare sending her into the future. You will send her back to exactly the day, that she left on. I will castrate you if you don’t.”

“Nah, don’t. As long as I am not too far from my time, I’ll be okay.”

Howard grinned at me, “I’ll do my best. Good luck, Jenna. Greet my son from me, will you? Tell him, I love him.”

“He isn’t even existing yet.”

Howard shrugged his shoulders, “So what? I know he’ll exist someday, and that’s enough.”

Smiling I agreed to tell Tony. Then Howard send me back.

Bloody Hell. Had it hurt that much the first time? Probably. I had been slammed against the wall, again. And as well as the last time, I felt as if all my energy had been drained from my body. But this time I was surrounded within seconds.

“Nicky! Oh, dear god, you’re back. Are you okay?”

My dad was hovering over me, some soldiers next to him. I mumbled something and Dad picked me up, to carried me to the sickbay. Soon I fell asleep.

When I woke up, Lance sat next to me, holding my hand.

“Hey there.”

“Hey, you, how are you?” Hunter smiled and kissed my forehead. “I love you. Did I tell you that I love you?”

“No, I don’t think so. Maybe. I don’t remember. How... how long…”

“Three month. You have been gone for three month. I thought I had lost you forever. But Bobby was a great help, actually.”

When I looked shocked, he continued quickly, “Not the way you think. We reunited S.H.I.L.D. And she helped the best she could. Searching for everything she could find about that stupid thing. Looked for scientists, everything. Even Stark is here to help. Coulson asked a favour.”

I groaned when I heard the name Stark.

“Is he still here?”

“Who?”

“Stark, of course.”

“Yeah, said he would stay until he is sure, you are okay. Something about, he had to make something up to you.”

I sat up, groaning. My body felt sour, as if… well, as if I had been thrown against a wall.

“No, no. no. no. You stay put.”

“I’m fine. The first time I just needed a good night’s sleep and some food.”

“How about, you tell me about the first time?”

“Later, Lance, I really need to talk to Stark, I made a promise.”

Reluctantly, Lance helped me to get to Tony. Which meant, he practically carried me there.

“Ah, Jenna, you are awake.”

I had never realised how much Tony resembled his father.

“Tony.”

We sat down in one of the living areas.

“Listen, Jenna, I thought about this time we worked together…”

“Never mind. Really. Forget about it. Your father is way worse. Even though, I think I grew friends with him.”

Tony starred at me confused.

“You ... What?”

“I was sent back to 1949, met Peggy and later Howard and Einstein. Anyways, we worked on sending me back together. He was... charming and, well he was way more annoying than you. But he asked me to tell you, that he loves you.”

Tony looked confused and disbelieving. “How… I mean?”

“You mean, you didn’t even exist in 1949?”

“Not for years.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Told him so, too, but he just said, that doesn’t matter, he knows you will exist someday and therefor, he loves you. Made me promise to tell you, since he wasn’t sure he’d be still alive today.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“You told him, please lay down again now.”

Lance looked at me with so much concerned, that I didn’t have the heart to argue. Gosh, how much I had missed him.

“Okay. Let’s go to bed. I missed my bed. And food. God, proper pizza.”

“After you’re better, I’ll take you out on a pizza date, okay?”

“I love you, Lance.”

“I love you to, Jen, and I missed you so much.”

Later we lay in my bed again. But I couldn’t sleep. Lance held me in his arms, he didn’t say anything, but I knew he couldn’t sleep either.

“I still can’t believe I’m finally back. Some part of me still thinks, this all is just a dream. That I will wake up in my bed back in 1949. That I’ll get up, have a quick breakfast with some chatty soldier, spent the day working and have dinner with either Peggy or Howard. Most likely Howard, though. Peggy works in L.A at the moment. Together with Daniel. He is quite a sweet man. I’m very happy for Peg.”

I fell silent for a moment, thinking about the Dinner I had with Daniel and Peggy. Howard had decided that I needed I break, needed to get out of the bunker. So, he flew me to his house in L.A. Jarvis, his butler took care of me there. One night, Peggy had invited me over to her and Daniel’s house. She wanted me to meet him. Soon later I had returned here, working with Howard, who had claimed he’d just sent me to LA because he needed a break of me.

“He was an idiot. Always joking, always laughing, and flirting with any remotely good-looking women. I must admit, he is quite charming. I grew rather fond of him, within the first week actually. Of course, only after I tried to murder him.”

“You did?”

It was the first reaction I got from Lance since I started monologing.

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure if you actually are talking to me.”

“Of course, I am. I might be confused about time. About today being seventy years ago. But there is one thing I know for sure. You are the only one I want lying next to me.”

He didn’t answer, just pulled me closer and kissed my shoulder.

“And I didn’t actually try to murder Stark. I just threw something after him because he was being an idiot. Peggy found that quite hilarious. Then again, I think she wanted to throw something at him more than once.”

“Jenna, I love you.”

“You said that already, twice today, actually. But I love you too.”

“I should have told you before. I should have…. I didn’t even remember you getting up. When I woke up and found you were gone, I thought you might have… I don’t know, I didn’t think anything. I went back to sleep. The next morning, you were still not there, I went to the kitchen, thinking you might have woken early. You weren’t there. You weren’t anywhere. It took us hours to figure that you went missing. Days to figure where and weeks to get any plausible theories. By the time we got S.H.I.E.L.D back together we were clueless about how to get you back. When we let Bobby out of her cell, well when someone else did, she went to find me, wanted to talk to me. She almost immediately knew something was wrong. When she was told what had happened, she said she was going to find a way to bring you back. I wonder why she would do that if she wanted to proof anything to me. But no. She just wanted to get you back to me. She decided that you were better for me than she could ever be. She put a lot of energy in finding the brightest heads of our time.”

“In that case, I should thank her tomorrow.”

“Do that. Just be there when I wake up. Will you do that for me? Being there?”

“For the rest of my life. However short it will be, I will do my best to be right next to you when you wake up.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. And next time, you do stupid stuff with time, take me with you again, will you?”

“Without question. Another time loop, future, past, alternative reality. No matter what, you’ll be in with me.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“But just to be sure, we should marry.”

“Did you just… did you just ask me to marry you?”

“No. I simply stated the fact, that the best way to make sure of any of the previously stated things and to avoid either of us ending with someone else, would be for us to marry.”

“Even if it wasn’t a question, my answer is yes. I’d love to marry you. Tomorrow first thing in the morning, if you want.”

“With our luck, that might not be that bad of an idea. But no. Dad probably wants me to marry you properly. If he doesn’t kill you first.”

“I think he warmed up to me, a little bit.”

“How couldn’t he like you, when you do everything you can to bring his beloved daughter back, especially if you happen to love this said daughter and be loved by her very, very much.”

“How couldn’t he?”

Lance laid his head down on my shoulder and finally, I found sleep. Hoping that I could rest for some time. I knew, that marrying a shield agent and becoming one myself would mean that I wouldn’t get to much boring times, but maybe just for now, it would be possible. Or at least, no time crap anymore.


End file.
